To celebrate its 12th anniversary, on March 1, 2024, the Maritime and Port Bureau (MPB) of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) host the “12 Years of Maritime Excellence: A New Era of Smart Technology” anniversary event in its 9th-floor auditorium. The celebration marked the official launch of the “Smart Navigation Safety Program 2.0”, initiating a new chapter in comprehensively enhancing maritime safety. Distinguished guests from the industry, government, academic, and maritime associations/unions/institutes attended the event, enhancing its grandeur. The attendees included Deputy Minister Kuo-Shian Lin of the MOTC, former Deputy Minister Wen-Jong Chi of the MOTC, Director Chen-Hua Han of the Department of Navigation and Aviation, Chairman Hsien-Yi Lee of the Taiwan International Ports Corporation, Chairman Wei-Chun Hsieh of the CR Classification Society, Chairman Yan-Yi Chang of the Evergreen Marine Corporation, and Chairman Cheng-Mount Cheng of the Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation. The celebration featured performances by the Xin Hangyun Choir and showcased a retrospective video clip on the MPB's policy achievements. Former Deputy Minister Wen-Jong Chi of the MOTC presented an oil painting titled “Maritime One” made by his wife Mei-Chen Chang as a gift to wish the MPB continuous success and smooth operation in maritime safety and shipping affairs. The event also displayed the bureau’s substantial achievements over the years and future vision, aspiring for Taiwan’s maritime industry to make a global impact and gain international exposure.
During his speech, Deputy Minister Kuo-Shian Lin of the MOTC stated that twelve years ago, the MOTC integrated the maritime and port administration duties of the original port authorities to enhance the international competitiveness of Taiwan’s ports and promote the sustainable development of shipping policies and infrastructure. The MPB was established for the navigation supervision business involving public power, and the Taiwan International Ports Corporation coordinated port operation and management. This reformation separated enterprises from the government, modernizing the maritime and port system. Over the past 12 years, the MPB has actively created a high-quality maritime environment and established a comprehensive management system, achieving outstanding results in maritime policy promotion and receiving international recognition. Maritime transport, being vital to Taiwan’s economic development, has thrived globally thanks to the relentless efforts of the MPB and the maritime industry, contributing to Taiwan’s continuous economic growth and creating a better development environment. Lin particularly praised the leadership of the current and former Director Generals of the MPB and the hard work of all MPB staff in showcasing Taiwan’s robust maritime capacity to the world.
Hsieh-Lung Yeh, Director General of MPB, stated that the MPB serves as Taiwan’s maritime regulatory authority and has four core missions: aligning with international maritime safety standards, promoting sustainable maritime development, ensuring equal transportation rights for offshore islands, and fostering a marine tourism environment. In the past twelve years, the MPB has driven the development of Taiwan’s maritime transport and ports, gradually achieving tangible results, especially in aligning with international maritime safety. Taiwan has been on the Tokyo Memorandum of Understanding’s white list for six consecutive years. In recent years, the MPB has committed to promoting the Smart Navigation Safety Program. The Maritime Center and Changhua Offshore Wind Farm Vessel Traffic Services were established for comprehensive monitoring of maritime safety. The MPB integrated inter-ministerial rescue capabilities and strengthened navigation and reporting mechanisms for wind farms. In terms of promoting sustainable maritime development, Taiwan’s national shipping fleet ranks eighth globally in gross dead weight tonnage, showcasing formidable strength. Especially during the pandemic, when there was port congestion and a shortage of containers worldwide, collaboration among major shipping companies and MPB’s International Maritime Transportation Stable Team facilitated continuous growth in Taiwan's export trade for 26 consecutive months. Additionally, to realize the MOTC's policy vision of “equal transportation rights for rural areas”, the MPB introduced new fixed routes, subsidized the replacement of old passenger ships, improved facilities for maritime travel and transport, and completed the purchase and construction of vessels “New Taima” and “Penghu” last year (2023), considerably improving the quality of offshore island maritime services. The MPB also successfully established the TAIWAN Hi brand for Taiwan’s marine highway in an attempt to optimize Taiwan’s marine highway tourism environment from four maritime aspects: routes, ports, ships, and travel experiences. Specifically, the MPB actively promotes yachting activities, lighthouse tours, and island-hopping cruises.
At this event, MPB presented its years of effort to the public and clearly communicated its future work prospects to the maritime industry. Adhering to its mission, the MPB continues to promote the smart navigation safety upgrade program, leveraging creativity and technology to actively implement the four main tasks of optimizing offshore island transportation, improving smart navigation safety, promoting marine tourism, and optimizing harbor systems. By performing these tasks, the MPB can gradually achieve the vision and goal of people-oriented harbors, smooth maritime transportation, excellent marine environment, and sustainable shipping.
Contact person: Section Chief Yi-Chen Li
Contact number: 02-89786884
